
"The first year has shown impressively that professional football training for young talents can be optimally combined with the individual needs of the children and their families in this way," said Simon Rolfes, Managing Director Sport at Bayer 04. "We will continue to pursue this innovative path consistently. The next logical step is therefore to expand the locations in order to discover and train the best players in these new regions and to retain them at Bayer 04 at an early stage."
Familiarisation training for the Büderich and Wuppertal squads began in September and will take place at the respective locations. The official teams from these two locations will then compete in the 2026/27 season.

About the project Bayer 04-Future Kids:
As part of the project launched in September 2024, Bayer 04 is setting up regional locations for young footballers in the U8 to U10 age groups, where the children will be trained by qualified Bayer 04 coaches. This provides the optimum combination of footballing development of young talents and the individual needs of the children and their families, reduces the time required due to short journeys and significantly increases the quality of training on site. In addition, the concept guarantees a commitment from the club for at least three years up to U10 level in order to create security and reliability for the children and their families.
Further information on the Bayer 04-Future Kids project can be found HERE.
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Full-back Julia Mickenhagen is leaving Bayer 04 Leverkusen at the end of the season to join Bundesliga newcomers VfB Stuttgart. The 21-year-old’s contract with the club expires on 30 June.
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Werkself-TV shows the highlights of the Bayer 04 women's 3-1 win at RB Leipzig on the 25th matchday of the Google Pixel Frauen-Bundesliga 2025/26.
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The Werkself need a win in their penultimate match of the season at RB Leipzig on Monday evening (18:00 CEST) to keep their hopes of third place alive until the final day. After Eintracht Frankfurt lost on Saturday, Roberto Pätzold's side can close the gap on their rivals to two points and leave it all to play for next Sunday.
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Werkself fans from across the New York City area gathered Saturday morning at Smithfield Hall in Manhattan to cheer on Bayer 04 in the club’s crucial Bundesliga showdown against VfB Stuttgart given the match’s big implications.
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In the next head-to-head clash for the Champions League places at VfB Stuttgart, Bayer 04 failed to follow up their impressive 4-1 win at home to RB Leipzig from the week before. After Aleix Garcia gave the Werkself the lead with their fastest goal of the season, the Swabians turned the game around and won 3-1, knocking Leverkusen down into sixth place. It leaves them needing a win at home to Hamburger SV and other results to go their way on the final day of the 2025/26 campaign in order to reclaim fourth spot. The Werkself Review has all the analysis and reaction from all those involved in an eventful encounter with VfB.
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